One by one, the fortresses
which they occupied were recovered by force, or by stratagem; and the
vindictive cruelty of the Scottish borderers made dreadful retaliation
for the, injuries they had sustained. An idea may be conceived of
this horrible warfare, from the memoirs of Beauge, a French officer,
serving in Scotland.
The castle of Fairnihirst, situated about three miles above Jedburgh,
had been taken and garrisoned by the English. The commander and his
followers are accused of such excesses of lust and cruelty "as would,"
says Beauge, "have made to tremble the most savage moor in Africa." A
band of Frenchmen, with the laird of Fairnihirst, and [Sidenote: 1549]
his borderers, assaulted this fortress. The English archers showered
their arrows down the steep ascent, leading to the castle, and from
the outer wall by which it was surrounded. A vigorous escalade,
however, gained the base court, and the sharp fire of the French
arquebusiers drove the bowmen into the square keep, or dungeon, of the
fortress. Here the English defended themselves, till a breach in the
wall was made by mining. Through this hole the commandant creeped
forth; and, surrendering himself to De la Mothe-rouge, implored
protection from the vengeance of the borderers. But a Scottish
marc-hman, eyeing in the captive the ravisher of his wife, approached
him ere the French officer could guess his intention, and, at one
blow, carried his head four paces from the trunk.
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